Fort Wayne police arrest 3 in armed robbery try

Fort Wayne Police arrested three people Tuesday after a man tried to rob a Georgetown beauty college at gunpoint – the latest in a string of robberies on the city's northeast side.

Police responded just before 1 p.m. to the Chosen Christian Beauty and Barber College, 6422 Georgetown North Blvd., after a man came into the business brandishing a handgun and demanded cash, said police spokeswoman Officer Raquel Foster.

After the man failed to get any cash, he ran through the back door to a getaway vehicle and fled the area, Foster said.

An officer on patrol spotted the vehicle and stopped it in the 3500 block of Reynolds Street. One person fled from the vehicle on foot but was “immediately” caught by police, Foster said. Three people were in custody Tuesday afternoon.

Detectives are trying to determine each person's role in the robbery, Foster said.

The attempted robbery is at least the sixth robbery or attempt – several of them armed – over the past three weeks in Fort Wayne's northeast quadrant. Last week, police arrested a suspect in the Nov. 20 robbery of a Georgetown Dollar General store.

Bill Hartman, lead administrator of Blackhawk Christian Schools, said the schools locked down for about 15 minutes Tuesday after police notified them of the attempted robbery.